


sunshine for everyone

by answerstobefound



Category: Life Is Strange (Video Game)
Genre: F/F, Fix-It of Sorts, Sacrifice Arcadia Bay Ending
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-01-10
Updated: 2017-01-10
Packaged: 2018-09-16 13:27:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,563
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9273821
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/answerstobefound/pseuds/answerstobefound
Summary: 'They’ve silently decided to head for Seattle, to Max’s parents house. Or, Chloe figured that was the best place to go, and Max assumed the same– coming to the same decision without consulting each other, already knowing they were in sync.'OR: the continuing adventures of Max & Chloe, in six parts.





	

**Author's Note:**

> some notes:  
> 1\. i wrote this in four days after finishing life is strange in five days. i cried my eyes out, then coped with my sadness by eating my weight in tacos & watching a solid half of kristen wiig's filmography.   
> 2\. i have not read this fic all the way through bc i am too eager to post it. i apologize for any mistakes.  
> 3\. it is 9pm right now & i've been writing for six hours bc i'm the slowest writer ever. mistakes? see above.  
> 4\. these are just My Thoughts about what might have happened to max & chloe after they left arcadia bay. i want these kiddos to be happy and i wanted to tie up the loose ends that kept bothering my brain.  
> 5\. i'm writing this based on my one play through of the game. i saved kate, victoria & max came to be Not Enemies, victoria was kidnapped by jefferson, david didn't kill jefferson, & i sacrificed arcadia bay. i think those are the most important parts. hope nothing else is confusing.

****_ “someday we will foresee obstacles / through the blizzard, through the blizzard / today we will sell our uniform / live together, live together”  _ – obstacles by syd matters

 

* * *

**0.**

 

Max and Chloe stand in the rain until there isn’t any rain anymore, until the skies begin to clear, until the tornado dissipates. Max, who couldn’t bear to watch as her hometown was sucked up into the vacuum of the tornado, collapses against Chloe, who couldn’t bear to look away. Chloe drags the dead weight of Max Caulfield over to the bench and carefully sits her down. She drops down next to Max, who lays her head on Chloe’s shoulder at the first opportunity.

 

Max’s eyes are closed, and her slow breathing tells Chloe that she’s asleep. Chloe kisses her forehead, carefully places a hand over Max’s cold and completely soaked hair, and waits for her to wake up.

 

Sunshine peeks out through the heavy clouds eventually. Max wakes up slowly, nuzzling Chloe’s cold neck with her even colder nose before sitting up and rubbing at her eyes.

 

“Welcome back, Max,” Chloe forces a smile for Max’s sake. Max sighs deeply and pushes herself to stand. She pulls Chloe up by her hand and doesn’t let go as they begin the walk back down to the beach to Chloe’s truck.

 

* * *

**1.**

 

Arcadia Bay is trashed. Royally trashed. Collapsed buildings, electric lines down, glass littering the road, a number of dead bodies that Max pointedly doesn't look at. A soft pink glow shines over the town in place of the receding storm.

 

Chloe drives through the town like she's being chased by ghosts or guilt, dodging the debris in the road and speeding past the destroyed Two Whales diner without stopping. The roof has collapsed, the windows are blown out, and half the side wall is missing.

 

“Chloe,” Max says quietly, “we should check and see if your mom–”

 

“No,” Chloe chokes out. She shakes her head adamantly. “I can’t– she’s– the place is fucking destroyed, she’s probably– fuck, I can’t–”

 

“Okay,” Max touches Chloe’s shoulder for a moment, then pulls her hand back. “Okay. Let’s keep going.”

 

When Chloe doesn’t reply, Max goes right back to leaning her head on the glass and staring out. Chloe keeps driving, though slowing down slightly, and only stops about twenty feet in front of the town line. She rubs Max’s shoulder, silently asking if Max is okay to leave. Max nods slightly. She sits up straighter, ready to leave– for good, she assumes.

 

With Max’s permission, Chloe speeds over the town line.

 

* * *

**2.**

 

They’ve silently decided to head for Seattle, to Max’s parents house. Or, Chloe figured that was the best place to go, and Max assumed the same– coming to the same decision without consulting each other, already knowing they were in sync.

 

The trip takes a good four and a half hours, with the shitty gas mileage on Chloe’s truck and necessary bathroom and food breaks. Max calls her parents at the first gas station to let them know she and Chloe are both alive and they’re on their way. She ducks out of the phone call pretty quickly after her mom starts crying, because her dad will cry if her mom cries, and Max will cry if her dad cries. She doesn’t want to cry anymore today.

 

The sun dips lower and lower in the sky as they drive down the interstate. Chloe sticks a CD in after their pit stop in Olympia. Angus & Julia Stone and the crunch of the potato chips Chloe eats lulls Max into a half-conscious sleeping state. Max unbuckles and scoots closer to Chloe to lean into her. Chloe wraps an arm around Max’s shoulder, one hand on the steering wheel. Max dreams she’s a butterfly and vaguely listens to Chloe softly singing along to the music.

 

Max awakens to cool fingers sliding from her shoulder to the back of her neck and warm lips on her forehead.

 

“Max, c’mon, we’re here,” Chloe whispers.

 

Max hums and nods. She blinks hard, stretches, and lets Chloe pull her out of the car and into the cool Washington evening.

 

Ryan and Vanessa Caulfield come flying out of the house like it’s on fire. First, Ryan hugs Chloe and Vanessa hugs Max, bone-crushingly tight. They switch around. Then, Ryan and Vanessa maneuver the girls into a group hug. Chloe wiggles uncomfortably; Max, alternatively, closes her eyes, sighs, and basks in the feeling of being squeezed between the three people she loves most. Safety, finally.

 

* * *

 

Ryan makes grilled cheeses for Chloe and Max. The four of them sit at the dining room table while Chloe fabricates a story for how they survived the storm.

 

“Max and I were just… hanging out up by the lighthouse for the view of the ocean. It’s hella quiet and nobody bothers us up there.” She eats a spoonful of soup and squeezes Max’s hand under the table. Max stays silent, staring into her soup. “The storm came out of nowhere. It got crazy dark and started raining and then that tornado formed over the bay… The storm was so far away that we figured we’d be safe by the lighthouse. We just stayed up there… watched… waited. When the sky started to clear, we just got out of there. We figured the best place to go would be here.”

 

Vanessa reaches over and pats Chloe’s wrist. “You made the right decision, honey. You’re safe now, and you can stay here as long as you like.”

 

Chloe nods and smiles gratefully at Vanessa.

 

Max finally looks up from her soup. “Mom, Dad, may I be excused?”

 

“Of course, sweetie,” Ryan replies.

 

Max leaves her half-eaten soup at the table and rushes from the room.

 

Chloe stands and points her thumb towards the door Max left from. “I’m just gonna–”

 

Vanessa nods. She and Ryan begin to clear dinner away while Chloe leaves the room, taking the stairs two at a time. Once upstairs, she sees the light coming from under the closed bathroom door. Careful steps bring Chloe to the door. She knocks.

 

“Hey, Max? You okay?” When Max doesn’t reply, Chloe tries the doorknob. It turns, and she carefully pushes the door open, only to find Max hunched over the toilet. Chloe shuts the door behind her, kneels next to Max, and rakes her hands through Max’s hair to keep it away from her face.

 

Chloe takes a peek into the toilet, winces, and removes a hand from Max’s hair to flush the toilet. The water gets sucked down into the pipes and Chloe thinks of the tornado, the bay water feeding the storm, the town buildings flying into the swirling monster, the debris of the town, dead bodies on the sidewalk–

 

Max shooting forward, gagging over the toilet bowl, brings Chloe back to reality.

 

“You done?” Chloe asks quietly. After a pause, Max nods. Chloe puts the toilet lid down, flushes again, and puts an arm around Max to help her stand, then sit on the closed lid.

 

Chloe cleans Max’s face with a warm rag while Max sits, hunched over, staring into space. After she’s satisfied, Chloe assists Max in standing again, fills a cup with water, and tells her to rinse. Max does so without question or expression.

 

Chloe squeezes Max’s side. “Ground control to Major Max?”

 

Max finally snaps out of her trance and looks into Chloe’s eyes.

 

“Take a shower,” Chloe suggests. “You kinda stink. We both do. I’ll chill with your parents til you’re done.”

 

“Yeah,” Max agrees.

 

Chloe takes that as her cue to back out of the room.

 

* * *

Vanessa makes up the guest room for Chloe, but she only lasts about a half hour in the cushy queen-sized bed– too soft, too large, too alone with only her thoughts, it’s driving her nuts. So she sneaks into Max’s room, slips under the covers, and fits herself right behind Max. After a moment, she wraps an arm around Max’s waist and presses her hand into Max’s stomach. Max immediately snuggles back into Chloe and sighs.

 

Both girls sleep deeply without dreaming.

 

* * *

**3.**

 

Max and Chloe spend the next few days lounging around the Caulfield house, rarely out of each other’s sight. Ryan and Vanessa don’t ask a lot of questions– they’re just grateful to have their daughter and pseudo-daughter safe and sound and under their roof. The Caulfields pamper the girls to compensate for the trauma they suffered, ordering take out and offering trips to the cinema, the aquarium, national parks, whatever they might want to do. Neither girl accepts. They’d rather marathon movies, spacing out on the couch for hours while Max eats raw brownie mix and Chloe doodles in sharpie on her own legs or on Max’s.

 

They sleep a lot too, catching up on all the rest they missed over the hell week. They cry for their losses when they can't sleep at night, one of them curled around the other, careful to stay quiet so as not to alert Ryan or Vanessa. They only cry at night.

 

Three days into their stay, Ryan barrels into the room and, without a word, grabs the remote from the coffee table to switch the TV from  _ Moonrise Kingdom _ to the state news channel. Max starts to object, before she sees the two people being interviewed.

 

David and Joyce Madsen.

 

Chloe launches herself from slouching on the couch to kneeling on the floor, her mouth open in a silent cry, tears filling her eyes.

 

They’re being interviewed by a newscaster about the tornado that destroyed Arcadia Bay. Joyce cries, yet stands tall next to David, with her shoulders back and her eyes sadder than Max or Chloe has ever seen.

 

_ “–a storm like this. And, you, sir,” _ the newscaster addresses David, “ _ you drove a truck through the high winds to save your wife and the other citizens still left in the town, correct?” _

 

Chloe’s jaw drops.

 

“ _ Yes.” _ David nods once and doesn’t elaborate. Joyce puts a hand on his shoulder.

 

_ “He saved us all. Showed up right before that tornado took the whole town and sped us off. I saw the diner when we came back to see the damage. He really saved my life, plus eleven or twelve others.” _

 

“ _ I was also told that your daughter is missing?” _ the newscaster asks. _ “You haven’t been able to find her in any hospital or morgue?” _

 

Joyce swallows and shuts her eyes, trying to collect herself while a few tears slide down her cheeks. David takes over.

 

“ _ We’ve been unable to find her but are confident she must be alive. She’s a smart girl. She probably got out before the storm and is laying low somewhere.” _

 

“ _ What is her name?” _

 

_ “Chloe, _ ” Joyce says, almost too quietly for the microphone to catch it. Then, louder, “ _ Chloe Elizabeth Price.” _

 

A picture of Chloe pops up in the top left corner of the screen, a photo of her smirking and leaning against the jukebox in the Two Whales.

 

The newscaster turns to the camera. “ _ A picture of Chloe is being shown to you folks at home. If you have any information, please call the station. The number is on the bottom of the screen.” _ She turns back to David and Joyce. “ _ I wish you the best of luck in finding your daughter.” _

 

After the newscaster walks away from David and Joyce and signs off, a voiceover announces, “ _ up next, a Skype interview with Blackwell Academy student Warren Graham, one of those saved by David Madsen.” _

 

“Fuck,” Chloe gasps, a hand to her chest. “I gotta call that number. Now. Ryan, do you–”

 

Ryan immediately hands over the landline phone. “It’s already ringing.”

 

Chloe grabs the phone and cradles it against her ear with both hands, near hyperventilating with the realization that her mother is alive.

 

Max stays on the couch, still as her father sits down beside her, wraps his arms around her, and kisses the top of her head. They watch a grainy interview with a bruised Warren describing seeing the tornado as he drove away, while Chloe converses with the news station in the hallway.

 

“Yeah, hi, I’m Chloe Price, I just saw my mom and step-father on the news, and I need you to tell them I’m safe.” … “How am I supposed to prove I’m me when all my shit was destroyed in the tornado?! My name is Chloe Price, I was born on March 11th in 1994 to Joyce and William Price, what else can I–?!” … “I’m sorry for yelling. Can you just– fu- frick, just tell my mom I’m with Max at her house in Seattle? She’ll  _ know _ it’s legit.” Chloe listens for another moment, then gives the Caulfields’ phone number. “Can you–? Yeah, okay, thank you. I’ll be here all week.”

 

Chloe slams the phone down into the receiver. Max hears her stomp through the hallway and right out the back door. Without a word, she extracts herself from her father’s arms and follows after Chloe. She finds her curled up on the two seater swing hung from the old tree in the backyard, knees pulled up and forehead resting on them, shaking silently. The swing moves back and forth, uncaring. Max tip-toes on her bare feet across the damp grass to sit down next to Chloe, wrap an arm around her, and lean into her. Chloe continues to cry quietly, undisturbed.

 

“I thought they were  _ dead _ ,” Chloe sobs.

 

Max nods and rubs Chloe’s back soothingly. “I know.”

 

* * *

 

Three hours later, Joyce calls. Six hours later, she and David stand in the doorway of the Caulfields’ home, squeezing Chloe between them.

 

* * *

David and Joyce stay the night in the Caulfields’ guest room and spend a number of hours the next day talking to Chloe privately. While Vanessa is at work, Ryan and Max busy themselves sorting out a new cell phone for Max, as hers was water damaged in the storm, to give their guests more privacy. When they return, David and Joyce announce they’ll be returning to Arcadia Bay to help with the clean up; before they can ask, Ryan assures them that Chloe can stay in Seattle for as long as she needs.

 

The Madsens leave in the evening, after promising to call nightly and check in on Chloe.

 

When they’re tucked into Max’s bed that night, Max hesitantly asks Chloe what Joyce and David spent so much time talking to her about.

 

Chloe exhales heavily and recaps, “Mom wanted me and David to talk everything out. He spent most of the time apologizing. A lot. He’s wants to, like, make it up to me. But I acted hella shit to him too. They told me I can stay here as long as you’ll have me, or I can come live with them when they get a new place set up. They’re staying at a motel in Portland ‘til then.” Chloe flips onto her other side, pressing her back to Max’s; Max takes the hint and repositions herself as well. She places her hand on Chloe’s hip and drums her fingers against the waistband of Chloe’s underwear.

 

Chloe continues, “I think they just unloaded all the shit on me they’ve been meaning to say. They thought I was gone, I thought they were gone… Mom wants me to either finish high school or get a job. I told her I’d think about it, but I know I should.”

 

“We could go to high school together,” Max offers quietly.

 

Chloe snorts. “Yeah, maybe.”

 

Max doesn’t ask any more questions, and Chloe’s breathing evens out soon after.

 

* * *

**4.**

 

Max and Chloe hand out candy on Halloween. They go with Vanessa to the hospital and hang out in the doctors’ lounge while she sees her patients. They take pictures around Seattle and occasionally hang out with some of Max’s pre-Blackwell friends. They make plans for their futures, for Max to continue high school in the spring semester at a local magnet school and for Chloe to get her GED.

 

They  _ don’t _ return to Arcadia Bay to help with the clean up. Between the two of them, their guilt is far too high to bear seeing the half-rebuilt buildings or talking to the people who lost their homes and friends and family in a storm they brought about. Max watches the news coverage. She talks to Warren on the phone and he feeds her information on who survived, who died, how the construction is going. Chloe does not.

 

They stay away.

 

* * *

 

**5.**

 

Max reaches out to Victoria and Kate when she finds out they’re both alive and safe in Portland. She’d thought Mr. Jefferson had killed Victoria, but it turns out he really half-assed it. The police found her half-alive in the trunk of Jefferson’s car when they searched it after arresting him and brought her to the hospital. And when Kate’s family came into town to pick her up before the storm, they offered Victoria a ride out of Arcadia Bay and a place to stay in Portland until her parents could come pick her up.

 

The three of them agree to meet in a Starbucks near Kate’s house.

 

Max and Chloe road trip to Portland, like they’d planned to, a few days before Thanksgiving, leaving right after an early breakfast and blasting Bright Eyes the whole three hours south. They arrive on time, but Victoria and Kate seem comfortable enough to have been there at least a half hour, sitting near each other at one of the back tables and whispering to each other. Both girls stand when they see Max and Chloe walk in and greet them with hugs– Max, warmly, and Chloe, awkwardly but friendly, nonetheless.

 

Chloe makes an excuse to go visit the record shop she saw a few blocks over five minutes in, leaving Max, Victoria, and Kate to each other and their hot drinks.

 

“It’s weird, isn’t it?” is the first thing out of Victoria’s mouth. Before she can elaborate, Max and Kate reply with a simple and simultaneous, “yes.”

 

A beat, then they’re all laughing and any remaining tension is broken.

 

They talk about their lives in the wake of the storm.

 

None of them are officially back in school, though all are adamant about completing their higher education. Kate volunteers at her church most days and often brings Victoria with her. Victoria, although she could easily return to her parents in Seattle, has found a small apartment in Portland and is looking at universities in the area. Max wonders if Kate doesn’t have something to do with that, by the way Victoria stares after her when she goes to get another herbal tea.

 

When caught, Victoria looks down into her cappuccino and says nothing for a moment, then, “I feel awful about the way I treated her for so long, as I should. She’s so sweet and so…” she looks up again, staring openly at Kate over Max’s shoulder. “I would have died in that hospital if she hadn’t told her father I needed a ride too.”

 

“She’s a good person,” Max replies, “but so are you, when you want to be.”

 

“For her, I want to be,” Victoria says immediately, blushing after she realizes what she’s said.

 

“Want to be what?” Kate asks as she sits  down and gracefully places an arm over the back of Victoria’s chair.

 

“A famous photographer,” Max supplies easily. Victoria sighs thankfully. Max smiles in return and playfully nudges Victoria’s foot under the table. Victoria kicks back with a quiet laugh.

 

Chloe comes back just before noon to collect Max, telling her they’ll be late for their college tour if they don’t get a move on. Minus Chloe, they all hug again at their goodbyes. Victoria squeezes Max hard enough to almost crack her back, whispering, “text me, nerd,” in Max’s ear as she pulls away. Max laughs and promises to. Kate hugs Max delicately and tells her to visit Portland more often. Max promises to do that too.

 

* * *

 

 

**6.**

 

December comes and goes. Chloe  _ finally _ kisses Max under some mistletoe that Ryan  _ definitely _ hung in the doorway of Max’s bedroom for that reason. They tour colleges in Washington, Oregon, and California. Warren, Victoria, and Kate visit for New Years. Max returns to high school. Chloe gets a job. And another tattoo.

 

They go on dates. They kiss, sometimes loudly and sometimes quietly, in the back of Chloe’s car or on park benches or in dressing rooms at Forever 21 or on the backyard swing when Max’s parents aren’t home. Max plays her guitar for Chloe. Chloe tears up a little and denies it later.

 

Max attends summer school to finish all her high school credits. Chloe gets her GED. And a psychologist, at the recommendation of Vanessa, who begins to help Chloe better organize her thoughts and emotions.

 

Chloe applies to six colleges, is accepted into two, and decides to attend one. Max gets her diploma and a college acceptance letter of her own after that.

 

They start at their separate colleges. They make plans to get their own apartment when they can afford one at a later date.

 

They decline requests for interviews from multiple news stations on the one year anniversary of the tornado.

 

They don’t return to Arcadia Bay.

 

And, if Max still has the power to rewind time, she never tries to find out.

**Author's Note:**

> aren't they just cute.
> 
> thank u for reading & pls leave kudos & a comment if you enjoyed!
> 
> also what ending did y'all choose & why? how was the game for you? it was stressful for me & the dark room gave me nightmares. still 10/10 would recommend.


End file.
